Reviews by Brandon S

With 23 million sticks in our monstrous humidor at any given time it can be tough to single out a cigar to review. I know, I know…poor Brando. Millions of premium cigars at your disposal and you can’t find one to write a review on? You’re right, it’s pathetic. Truth is, much of our time is spent evaluating new blends for upcoming releases and at any given time there are at least a few hundred sample blends (seriously!) needing to be smoked. That’s actually part of the joy in writing these editor’s picks because it gives me an opportunity to smoke a blend that’s been on the market for a while and compare it to various projects we’re working on now. With that in mind I received an email from a buddy I’ll call Staff Sergeant Chuck asking me to review the Punch Gran Puro. First off, as you can see, Staff Sergeant Chuck is in the military (the Army to be specific) and I’m sure I’m not the first person to say it but, Staff Sergeant Chuck, thank you from the bottom of my heart for dedicating your time to serving this great nation of ours and protecting the freedoms we enjoy every day as American citizens. That goes for every one of you reading this who have bravely served in the United States Armed Forces, thank you.

Now, after convincing the boss to let me “borrow” a 5-pack of the Punch Gran Puros from the humidor for a little research I’m back at my desk where I can examine these beefy cigars. I grabbed a pack of the Pico Bonito (6x50) for this review because I’m a big fan of the toro size. To me they are ideal for tasting since they provide enough length to determine complexity but don’t take more than an hour to burn through. The Gran Puro as you might have guessed is a true Honduran puro meaning that all of the tobaccos in the cigar are from one country. In the case of the Punch Gran Puro the wrapper is a Havana-seed Sungrown wrapper which typically means good things if you like full-bodied and flavorful cigars. Direct exposure to the sun means more strength as well as a more leathery texture which is obvious if you take a good look at this stick. The binder on the Gran Puro is also a Sungrown leaf which adds to strength of the Gran Puro. Setting fire to the foot the first few draws are rich and produce a robust flavor that I will describe as nutty and earthy. Cigars that are “puros” really give you an opportunity to zero in on the specific flavors that the soils impart into the tobacco. True to my experiences with Honduran tobacco, the Gran Puro offers a mellow yet very rich smoking experience while producing gigundo clouds of bluish-yellow smoke. The sungrown tobacco yields a subtle spice up front but one that is much more pronounced on the back and sides of the tongue as the Gran Puro continues to burn. Halfway through and to be honest, this smoke has me sweating a little. It’s definitely stronger than I recall and lives up to the name Punch. Not a ton of complexity in the Gran Puro but to be honest, I’m thinking that I prefer it that way. This is an enjoyable smoke right from the start and while the spice builds throughout, the flavor never changes all that much. As far as the quality of construction goes, I’ll have to agree with Staff Sergeant Chuck on this one. It’s simply top notch. Densely packed and heavy in the hand but still draws effortlessly and razor sharp. I’ve visited General Cigars factories on more than one occasion and I can tell you first hand that there are very few cigar makers who take quality to the level that these folks do. Where other companies have a 5-step process for quality-control General Cigar has 12 and that ain’t no joke.

Having smoked my Gran Puro down to the nub I’m quite pleased with it. It has delivered a fine smoking experience and the truth is I think it’s a pretty good value for the dollar. Yes, SCHIP is right around the corner and prices are going to go up across the board thanks to the meatballs in Washington but at the end of the day the Punch Gran Puro may still prove to be a good value for the dollar. That’s just my two cents though. The true beauty of smoking cigars above all else is that it’s really only your opinion that matters.

Staff Sergeant Chuck, I hope this review meets your approval my friend! Thanks for taking the time to write and thanks again for serving this great country!

Well folks, another Thanksgiving is in the books! I hope you all enjoyed your time with friends and family and I certainly hope you found time to enjoy that all-important Thanksgiving Day cigar! I know I did…3 in fact. Funny though, of the cigars I had selected for my Thanksgiving enjoyment the one that stood out head and shoulders above the others was none other than the CAO ‘VR’. I packed my humi with a few select personal favorites and grabbed a few of my VR’s for that inevitable request from my wife’s cousin, “hey man, did you bring any extras?” (you know how that story goes, right?) and off we headed to the in-laws for a day of gorging, imbibing and stories about family members I’ve never met. When said conversation ensued I was only too happy to volunteer to head outside and operate the old turkey fryer for an hour knowing this would be a prime opportunity to light up a cigar and enjoy the peace and quiet of a beautiful fall day. I left my smokes inside but had a spare humi packed in the car and after managing to the get the turkey-fryer fired up I snuck off to the car and grabbed me a CAO ‘VR’ Moby, clipped the foot and lit’er up.

Truly a cigar that can be described as pretty, the ‘VR’ is as oily as it is dark and oh so toothy. I’ve had this box since we received our first shipment back in June of ’07 and the additional aging has done wonders to the tobacco within. Off the start the first few draws are creamy and rich with distinct chocolaty undertones and a sweet finish. I should mention that the ‘VR’ is manufactured by the famed Torano family whose attention to detail and focus on producing a quality product is second to none. So it came as no surprise that after two inches in the burn was as straight as could be with an ash as solid as concrete. Reaching the 1/3 mark some peppery “tinglies” are noticeable on the front and sides of my mouth as the Moby begins to change a bit and pick up some strength. The fryer finally reached 350 so I grabbed the bird and dropped it in. If you’ve never fried a turkey I highly recommend trying it at least once. It’s surprisingly violent and rather amusing to watch the entire pot shake. As I continued smoking my Moby I began thinking of what else I could chuck into the old fryer just for grins… When I finally refocused my attention back on the ‘VR’ I realized that it had mellowed tremendously. The spice and tinglies were gone. In their place rich, leathery notes of chocolate and coffee coated my palate leaving me wanting more but alas, the end was near.

As the evening wore on I smoked the remaining two Moby’s that I had brought along with me enjoying the same experience each time. Ironically I readily gave up some much pricier smokes to friends and family just so I could keep the CAO’s for myself. Just goes to show you that you don’t have to spend a bundle to get a damn fine smoke!

Montecristo is easily one of the world’s most recognizable trademarks when it comes to cigars and I’m quite sure you’ll agree with me on that. Ask a few folks to name three brands of cigars off the top of their head and I can all but guarantee you that Montecristo will be one of them along with Macanudo and Cohiba. What I find interesting is that for all of the fame and recognition this brand gets, these cigars have very little to offer the savvy cigar-enthusiast. These days the trend is headed towards fuller-bodied and more complex cigars that are loaded with flavor and spice. This is not to say that there aren’t a great number of people who enjoy the Montecristo brand however. More so, it is an observation of a brand that owes much of its recognition to the fact that its Cuban counterpart is largely regarded as one of the finest cigars ever produced. To validate this I grabbed a 5-pack of the Montecristo #2 size (Dominican version of course) after realizing that I hadn’t smoked this cigar in at least a few years and owed it to the brand to review it objectively.

Out of the box it is worth noting that the Montecristo is a very well-constructed cigar with no soft-spots to speak of. This is true of each of the five I have on my desk. The Connecticut-Shade wrapper is golden in color with a slightly mottled and blotchy appearance. Clipping the head I drew on the cigar a few times before actually sparking it and found the pre-light draw to be reminiscent of freshly-baked bread and very pleasant. The draw itself is perfect and provides just the right amount of resistance. I toasted the foot, took a few puffs and I was off… The first few draws are very smooth and produce large, thick clouds of smoke. The flavor is gentle with a subtle cedar note and a very short finish. At an inch or so in the burn is impeccable and a sweet, woody aroma has filled the air. The ash is tight and compact and requires a firm tap to dislodge it from the foot. At the half-way mark I find the flavor and strength to be nearly identical to the first inch. Nuances of cedar persist but really not a whole lot else going on with the fabled Montecristo. With just over an inch and a half to go I find myself ready to lay the #2 to rest and hardly impressed with it.

The Monte #2 isn’t a bad smoke by any stretch of the imagination but it does lack the excitement and dimension of many of today’s newer boutique blends. In recent years the cigar industry has become one where the latest and greatest is constantly being redefined by small-batch production that utilizes the very best tobaccos often previously passed over by larger manufacturers due to lack of sustainability. While Montecristo will most likely remain a popular brand name for years to come, the cigar itself is average at best. The sea of mediocre cigars is a large one and if smooth to medium-bodied and one-dimensional is what you seek, there are plenty of alternatives to Montecristo that are equally well-constructed and sell for less than half the price.

I must say, it’s been some time since I’ve last enjoyed the wonder that is the Partagas Black and I owe it all to an email I received from Angela who requested that I provide some thoughts on this blend. I think we all have tendency to write reviews on cigars we enjoy on a regular basis so when I received this request to review the Partagas Black, I was all too happy to oblige! For my review I choose to smoke the 6X54 Magnifico size. Generally speaking, I prefer cigars with ample ring gauges to those with thinner rings because the smoke is typically cooler which allows more of the nuances and flavors to present themselves. This is doubly important in my opinion with a cigar that is as full-bodied as the Partagas Black.

As is usual procedure, I scampered into CI’s cavernous humidor and nabbed myself a 5’er of the Magnifico. Arriving back at my desk I opened the bag and pulled all 5 samples to compare them for construction. What I found was pretty typical of many cigars produced by General Cigar. Each stick was solid yet not overfilled and gave slightly with a little pressure from my fingers. I couldn’t find any “knots” that would indicate an issue with the draw so I cut two of them and found both to draw well. I grabbed my trusty torch, lightly toasted the foot and was greeted by a pleasant aroma followed by a slight peppery sensation in my nose. Upon lighting the cigar I found the flavors to be quite smooth and almost buttery in texture. At approximately the one inch mark I noticed a distinct change in the overall character of the cigar. The smooth and buttery texture that was so pronounced in the first few draws gave way to a more robust flavor that was accented by a slightly peppery finish. No doubt this is attributable to the sungrown wrapper and generous helping of Cuban-seed ligero filler! At the half-way mark the cigar has graduated entirely from smooth and buttery to a full-bodied and spicy powerhouse that almost leaves your eyes tearing and your head dizzy with delight! The Partagas Black may not fit the bill for your first smoke of the day but, after a good dinner or accompanied by a stiff drink it has all the makings of a very enjoyable experience. For those of you who slobber all over yourself when you see or hear mention of the fabled and overrated Opus X, I urge you to give the Partagas Black its due diligence. I think the Black is a very comparable alternative and is readily available to you at an affordable everyday price. Sure it may not have a colorful or ornate a band as the Opus but then again, it doesn’t have that ridiculous price tag that accompanies that band either.

Bottom Line – Bang for the buck the Partagas Black will deliver by the truckload. General Cigar has been in the cigar game for a very long time and is a company that prides itself on quality and its ability to produce consistent and well-constructed cigars year after year. As a side note – if you fall in love with the Partagas Black, make sure you try the 5 Vegas Series ‘A’. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!